North Korea orders out U.N. inspectors

Plans to restart nuclear program

Plans to restart nuclear program

September 25, 2008

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - North Korea moved closer to restarting its nuclear arms program Wednesday, barring U.N. inspectors from its main plutonium reprocessing plant and announcing it will reactivate the facility that provided the material for its atomic test blast. The move fed fears about a resurgent nuclear North Korea, but there also is speculation it might be motivated by negotiating strategy. Pyongyang could use the year needed to restart its sole reprocessing plant to wrest more concessions from the U.S. and others seeking to end the atomic program. Still, coming amid reports leader Kim Jong Il suffered a stroke, the nuclear reversal is raising nervousness about a breakdown in the international attempt to coax the North out of its confrontational isolation - a point addressed Wednesday by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. U.S. diplomats are talking with other nations involved in bargaining with the North at this week's meeting of the U.N. General Assembly. Any move by Pyongyang to restart its nuclear program ''would only deepen its isolation,'' Rice warned. ''We strongly urge the North to reconsider these steps and come back immediately into compliance with its obligations'' under a disarmament-for-aid agreement reached in six-nation talks. Hours earlier, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced that North Korean officials ''informed the IAEA inspectors that they plan to introduce nuclear material to the reprocessing plant in one week's time.'' David Albright, a nuclear expert with the Institute for Science and International Security, said restarting the reprocessor could take longer if North Korea wants to run tests. ''It's a plant that handles a lot of liquids. They are reattaching a lot of equipment. They have to make sure they reattached them correctly and did the welds,'' Albright said. It could be accomplished more quickly if North Korea is willing to be less careful about leaks. ''It could happen as soon as next week,'' he said.